


Little Bird

by 4ce_in_sp4ce



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux is a little shit, Ben's really struggling with the Force, Drug Cartel AU, Drug Use, Force-induced anxiety attacks, Force-induced hallucinations, Hux has several siblings, M/M, and it's not going well, and they're all kinda dicks, it just runs in the family I guess, with very good business sense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-20 06:49:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14889680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4ce_in_sp4ce/pseuds/4ce_in_sp4ce
Summary: After the fall of the Empire, Brendol Hux relocated to Tatooine and took over Jabba the Hutt's criminal empire. 20 years later, Armitage has begun to expand the drug branch of the cartel to Hosnian Prime, home of the New Republic and Ben Solo, a young padawan struggling to deal with the side effects of a strong connection to the Force.





	1. Chapter 1

Ben hated the Temple. The other trainees were still feeling out their force abilities, and that made them _loud_. It was like they were purposefully trying to scream their thoughts to anyone and everyone within a 5 klick radius. And they weren’t even interesting thoughts either, just dull, mindless ramblings. 

He sighed in frustration and stood up. Beside him, Luke shifted. “Getting up already, Ben? You’ve only been meditating for a few minutes. Meditation is…”

“An important Jedi practice, I know,” Ben mumbled. “I’m just having a hard time concentrating right now. I’ll meditate later.” He really would, or at least he’d try. Preferably in a quieter place. 

“Adversity must be faced head on if it is to be overcome.”

“And I will face it head on. Later.”

Luke smiled, his eyes still closed. “You have so much of your father in you.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “I’ll pretend that was a compliment, uncle.” He pulled his robe tighter around himself as he left the Temple, trying to block out all of the noise. It was all giving him a headache. He briefly considered trying to sleep for a bit, but he knew it was useless. If it was too loud to meditate, it was definitely too loud to sleep. 

Things didn’t get any better as he left the Temple grounds. People everywhere, talking loudly and thinking bright and garish thoughts expressed in neon tones that made Ben cringe. What had possessed his uncle to reestablish the Jedi Temple on Hosnian Prime? Yes the old Temple had been here, but there’d been even older temples on planets like Jedha without them ever having been rebuilt, so clearly traditional locations weren’t of paramount importance. Hell, Ben actually would’ve probably preferred Jedha to Hosnian Prime; it may have been cold and miserable, but at least Jedha was deserted enough to be quiet. 

The back streets were a little better. People were careful here. No one wanted to advertise deals made in the shadows, so voices were more hushed and thoughts more guarded. The clubs were the best though. Loud, throbbing music that blocked out everything else, minds so numbed out on spice that they couldn’t even form a coherent thought, it was perfect. He might not be able to meditate here, but at least he could relax.

XXX

Armitage hated Hosnian whiskey. People always talked up how good it was and how nuanced the flavours were, but it was just bitter. It didn’t even go down particularly smooth. It meant he was on Hosnian Prime though, so he’d take it. 

Hosnian Prime was a big assignment. Any core planet was, but Hosnian Prime was the _core_ of the core planets in the New Republic. If he could set up a good network here, he’d be cemented in the cartel structure. Indispensable. Armitage smiled. Brendol would hate that. 

Things were going well so far. The planet was ripe for drug trade. It had been hard to get in at first after the New Republic had established the planet as their capital, but it had been over 20 years now. Officials grew lax, law enforcement became corrupt, and demand for illicit substances far outpaced the supply. Armitage had had his eye on Hosnian Prime for several years by this point. He’d slowly but surely extended his network of informants until he had a fair number on Hosnian Prime itself, despite him never having been given permission to go there. It was then that he approached Brendol for permission to begin on-planet expansion. 

Brendol had...not been pleased by Armitage’s expansion of his network without permission, and several of the upper members of the cartel had been in favour of punishing him for insubordination. But Armitage had been careful. Nothing he had done had gone against cartel rules, so no punishment was appropriate. It was, after all, Armitage’s job to live and work in the grey areas. He knew how to maneuver through them better than anyone else. 

He glanced back at the books he’d been pouring over. Sales were up, and he’d managed to make some more inroads into the local police. The New Republic Security Force was a bit of an issue though. They’d been trying to crack down on the spice trade in the city, which was bad for business. Rumor was that there was pressure on them not only from the Galactic Senate, but also from the Jedi Temple. Armitage didn’t have too many worries, though. The demand for spice was still high and he was making a profit. In the end, that was all that really mattered. 

XXX

Out of everywhere in the Temple, Ben hated the library the least. Most of the other trainees here were still younglings, with only a handful being old enough to be padawans, so the library was usually pretty empty. That meant it was quiet, or at least quieter. 

There was a good collection of books too. His uncle had spent past 20 years collecting manuscripts from across the galaxy. Some of them had to do with the Jedi, others were simply ones his uncle thought needed to be preserved. Either way it was an interesting collection to look through. Ben’s favourites were the calligraphy texts. There weren’t many, but the few there were were gorgeous. He could sit there for hours just staring at them, memorizing every brush stroke. They were gorgeous. 

His mother had actually gotten Ben his first calligraphy set. He’d only been 4 at the time. It had been a going away present as he left to live and train with his uncle at the Temple. Though the scrolls had long run out, Ben had taken good care of the brushes, cleaning them meticulously. He knew his uncle disapproved of him keeping the set ( _“You’re training to be a Jedi, Ben, you have to give up all attachments”_ ), but he kept it anyways. He despised getting new brushes, breaking them in and figuring out their specific flow and movement was an absolute pain, so keeping his old set was preferable. 

Sometimes, when the librarian was on break, Ben would even sneak his own calligraphy set in. He would practice recreating the masterworks his uncle had collected, sometimes spending hours trying to perfect a single brushstroke. They all looked so deceptively easy, but the smooth, elegant lines took a steady hand, a sharp eye, and limitless patience. The walls of Ben’s room were covered in attempts to recreate the scrolls in the library, none of them even close to perfect, but each slightly better than the last. 

His calligraphy wasn’t good today though. His hands were shaking which made his lines crooked. He gritted his teeth, trying to concentrate harder and will his hand to be steady, but it wasn’t working. He just couldn’t focus. The voices around him were indistinct and he couldn’t make out anything they were saying. They weren’t the thoughts of others, he didn’t know what they were, but they were intrusive. When he started to hear them, they would stay for days at a time, sometimes louder, sometimes softer, but always there. He thought calligraphy might help calm him down, but it didn’t. All it did was make him more aware of how much he couldn’t block the voices out. 

He sighed. It was no use. With shaking hands, he carefully put his calligraphy brushes away and replaced the scrolls. He tried to tell himself that some sleep would help, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep like this. He’d have to silence the voices some other way.

XXX

Leia walked down the Senate hallway with the calm fury of the eye of a hurricane. The aides moved to the side of the hallway and waited for her to pass before grouping together, whispering and trying to figure out what had put the general in such a bad mood. 

Captain Rytan looked up, startled as Leia burst into his office and slammed the door behind her. He stared blankly at small stack of papers she slammed onto his desk.

“Well?” she demanded.

“Well what?”

Leia sighed in frustration. “This is the bi-annual crime report. I assume you’ve looked at it?”

“Well, it’s been a busy day and…”

“And you and your men are doing jack shit apparently.”

“Excuse me?”

“Spice usage has gone up since the last report, which was already significantly higher than the report before that, and the Boyihs cartel is gaining more and more strength. I thought you said you and your men were cracking down on their activity.”

“General, we are doing what we can but, but the cartel’s roots are deeper than we thought, and the demand for spice is…”

“I don’t want your excuses, Captain, I want results. You were assigned the task of cracking down on the cartel and the spice trade and so far, it appears to me that you’re not very good at your job.” She turned and walked out of the captain’s office without waiting for a reply. She hated incompetence. She’d been the one to push for the involvement of the New Republic Security Force to deal with the increasing crime rates to begin with, and it was frustrating to see Captain Rytan bungling the job. 

The Hosnian Prime police weren’t any better. She’d only pushed for the NRSF involvement in the first place because the local forces were making absolutely no headway. Leia was pretty sure they were corrupt, but she’d never say that on the Senate floor. She may have been a general first and foremost, but Leia was also a politician. For the NRSF to be able to do their job properly, they had to have at least some cooperation from the local police, and openly accusing the police of being corrupt, at least right now, was just going to make things harder than they already were.

Leia had no doubt that the cartel had deep roots on Hosnian Prime. Though they only been openly active on the planet for a few years, word of informants and backdoor infiltration had been circulating for years before that. She supposed she should expect no less from a cartel run by an ex-Imperial officer.

She’d only ever met Commandant Hux once, be Leia knew his type all too well: arrogant, calculating men who would do anything, and sacrifice anyone, to get what they wanted, often under the guise of duty or patriotism. A cold-hearted bastard who’d only used the Empire as a shield, a means to his own end. It was believed that he’d settled on Tatooine and take over Jabba’s criminal empire after fleeing from the Battle of Jakku, though very little was known for sure. 

Leia sighed. She’d have to keep a close eye on Captain Rytan to make sure he did his job. She wanted the Boyihs cartel off of Hosnian Prime and the spice trade decimated as soon as possible. 

XXX

Ben sat in the dark club with his eyes closed, a slight smile on his lips, the loud music and spice flowing through his veins finally silencing the whispering voices that had invaded his mind all week.


	2. Chapter 2

Armitage looked around the restaurant coolly. He was early, giving him time to simply enjoy himself and watch the crowd around him. Places like this were more expensive than he could usually afford, making the people watching experience just that much more enjoyable. The clientele were the upper echelon of Hosnian society, the types of people who wore evening gowns to go to lunch. Armitage was less glamorously dressed, but a tailored suit allowed him to fit in just fine. 

If he could establish himself strongly enough on Hosnian Prime, being able to eat at places like this would be well within his reach. The restaurant, and its customers, were more ostentatious than Armitage ever planned on being, but the simple fact of knowing he could come here if he so desired would be enough. 

“You know, I got us a table. But of _course_ you’re at the bar.”

Armitage looked over and smiled. “Better place to people watch. I have a better view of the entire room.” He got up and gave his sister a polite hug. “You’re looking gorgeous, as always.”

Ry Sen smiled and led him to a table by the windows. “And you’re looking very dashing yourself. A well tailored suit is horribly underrated by most people.” She sat down across from him and ordered a bottle of wine. “So how have you been? I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve been able to see you in person.”

He shrugged. “Work’s been busy, which is good. I’m making headway here, enough so that even father’s taken notice.”

Ry Sen roller her eyes. “You don’t have to call him that in front of me, Armie. Whatever name you call him, I’m sure I can come up with a worse one.”

“Well, I suppose I like calling him the old bastard, if just for the irony of it.”

“Certainly not the rudest, but he’d hate it so much.” Ry Sen grinned. “I love it. Maybe I’ll start using it.”

Armitage grinned back. “Just make sure your husband doesn’t hear, I doubt he’d appreciated.”

“Yes, well, my _dearest husband_ can go fuck himself.”

Armitage laughed. “Still not enjoying your marriage, I take it?”

“Oh please, you’ve met the man. Take everything we both hate about dear old dad, multiply it by three, and make it hideous, and you have Snoke. Enough about him though. I don’t want to ruin the afternoon.” Ry Sen took a drink. “What do you think of Hosnian Prime so far?”

“Well the whiskey is shit, but the planet itself is quite nice. It’s certainly nicer than Tatooine, but then again I’m pretty sure a garbage heap would be better than Tatooine.” He took a drink of the wine Ry Sen had ordered. It was sweeter than he generally drank, but still quite good. “There’s a lot of pressure to get this right, but it’s going well so far, so I’m not too worried. Demand is strong, and there’s no major groups to compete with, so we’re turning a pretty good profit. The NRSF is the biggest issue, and even they aren’t too bad. I’ll find the right person to bribe eventually, and then I’ll barely have to worry about them at all.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine. You did always have the best strategy and business sense out of all of us.”

“I can feel Curare screaming from here.”

“He was always jealous of you, wasn’t he?”

“He’s just mad that his bastard little brother is better than him at something.”

Ry Sen grinned again. “I guess that explains why he’s always mad.”

Armitage rolled his eyes and took another drink. “Dysfunctional or no, you have to admit our family is certainly entertaining.” 

“I suppose entertaining is a word one could use. Not the one I would use, but it could definitely be used.” Ry Sen frowned as his com went off. “Having your com on in a restaurant is rude, Armie.”

“I know, I’m sorry. Unfortunately, business doesn’t take lunch breaks.” He looked at the message and sighed. “Listen, I have to go. But you’ll let me know whenever you’re on Hosnian Prime, yes?”

“Of course I will.” She stood up and gave Armitage a hug. “Good luck, and may your success be a continue to piss off Curare.”

“I’ll do my best,” Armitage laughed. “I don’t plan on ever giving him the smug satisfaction of seeing me fail.”

XXX

Ben could feel Luke watching him. He had to be careful like this. He wasn’t really high anymore, but he wasn’t exactly not high either. Spice had a long coming down period, and Ben had misjudged how long it would take. He hoped his uncle would just assume he was so relaxed from meditating, but he knew he had to watch what he said and did. It was better than being anxious though. 

He actually looked forward to meditating like this. Even when coming down, the effects of spice made it hard to focus on anything, so it felt more like he was observing the world than an actual participant in it. It made it easy to let things go and meditate.

“You’re quite relaxed today.”

Ben didn’t open his eyes, just let his uncle’s voice wash over him. “I meditated earlier today.”

“Must have been quite the session then.”

“I suppose it was.” Ben could feel his uncle’s bemusement. He was believing him, at least mostly. That was good. Even if he didn’t, Ben knew it would take a while before Luke even came close to suspecting spice usage, or drugs at all, really. He’d have time to cover his tracks if he needed to.

“Well I’m glad to see that you’re meditating on your own. I’ll be interested to see if you stay this relaxed in our sparring session later.”

Ben smiled, eyes still closed. “I guess we’ll see.”

XXX

Curare looked over the records carefully. He wanted to be fully prepared for this meeting. If Armitage had made any missteps at all, he wanted to make sure he was held accountable for them. Serin bristled beside him. Curare didn’t bother looking up. “Everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine.”

“You seem angry.”

“Why does father think the bastard is important enough to send both of us out here?”

Curare sighed. His brother had no business sense. “Because Hosnian Prime is an important planet, and Armitage is in charge of operations here. If we can establish a base of operations here, we can easily spread to other core worlds.”

“If it’s so important, then the bastard should never have been allowed to run it.”

“Well, even you have to admit I’m doing a rather good job.”

Curare looked up, annoyed. “You’re late, Armitage.”

Armitage sat down with a polite smile. “I had business to attend to. I’m sure you understand.”

Curare flashed a polite smile back before turning back to the records. “Profits are good, but I see that NRSF activity is increasing.” 

“Pressure for General Organa, and possibly from the Jedi Order as well. It’s to be expected as the cartel influence on Hosnian Prime grows. Nothing my men can’t handle.”

“Don’t underestimate the NRSF. They’re powerful and well-funded.”

“Which is why I’ve focused on making inroads in the local police. They know that if I go down, I take them down with me.” 

Armitage’s tone stayed professional, but Curare could hear the smugness beneath it. He was even smirking slightly. He was so sure of himself, so sure that he wouldn’t make a mistake, and so far he was right. Profit was above what they’d expected, and Armitage had even managed to make several new business alliances. It was infuriating. Curare should’ve been the one heading the Hosnian Prime initiative, not this whore’s son. “I noticed you’ve requested a increase in spice shipments to the planet.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve put a stop on it. You’ll flood the market, it’ll be bad for business. I’m surprised you didn’t realize that Armitage.”

“That’s the plan. Flooding the market with high quality, low priced spice will force out competition. We have a larger and more reliable supply, so we can afford to increase the amount and drop the price while still turning a profit. Other dealers won’t be able to keep up and will either lose their place in the market or will turn to us for wholesale product. Once we have a stranglehold on the market, we can decrease the amount on the street, raise the price, or even both, and people will have to choice but to go along with it if they want the product.” Armitage leaned back in his chair, leveling Curare with a cool stare. “It’ll be wonderful for business. I’m surprised you didn’t realize that.”

“Watch your mouth, bastard.”

“It’s fine, Serin. His plan is solid. I simply wanted to make sure he had one.” Curare looked down at the records so that Armitage wouldn’t see his face grow red. He hadn’t been testing to see if Armitage had a plan. He hadn’t even thought of this, and Armitage knew it. “Now that I know you have a plan, I’ll authorize the increased shipments.”

“It’s good to see how cautious you are, brother. With your skills, I’m sure you’ll be heading a core world initiative too soon enough.” 

Curare smiled through clenched teeth. “Why thank you, _brother_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Since I apparently have 0 self control, here's a new fic, because I guess 3 WIPs just weren't enough


End file.
